Disclaimer- I don't, in any way, own Tales Of Symphonia. I beg, just don't sue me because I don't have any money and I'm not profiting from this in any way.

Prelude: Before and After

My name is Kratos Aurion.

I am, and know very well, that I am a weak man. I have seen and done terrible things, but never once stopped them. I allowed people, so many people, to suffer and wither, to die and fade away. I am weak, because I only accept what I see before me, never looking beyond.

It is easier to do so.

But…people change, even immortals. That is the beauty of existence, as a certain son told me. There is no point in dying, but there is always a point in living, no matter how small it seems. Everyone makes a difference.

It is a nice idea, a thought, a dream, but it is just that. An idea, a thought, a dream, is nothing more unless action is taken. One cannot just spout beautiful words, inspire hope, and stand by and do nothing. That is almost as terrible as doing a deed.

I never thought any of this until I met…her. Her dreams, her thoughts, were performed with action whenever possible. She always tried, always cared…always loved.

And I wasn't strong enough to let her live.

I was the cause of her death.

I was the cause of her suffering.

It should have been me instead, but the gods are cruel beings. They play with our lives and let us suffer like this. We are nothing but pawns in an ever intricate game that chaos is winning right now, as well as with evil, and hope is losing, but always still playing.

I sometimes think of what life would be without ever meeting her. I try not to, but I can't help it. Sometimes that little bit pushes through, for a split second, and it makes me feel guilty that I could ever think such a thing. I'm not like that…am I?

Anna Lexington was…is…the most important person to me. She was that special one in a million. I've never met anyone like her. She was the most beautiful and thoughtful person I've known. Never had I met someone who would gladly give up her only meal to a needy person. Never had I met someone who would mourn over the death of a stranger. Never had I met such a wonderful someone.

She was only eighteen, running for committing crimes against the Desians. She was branded as an outlaw, but secretly a hero, the only person to strike down the Desian caravans so quickly, and to free so many slaves.

Stories of her heroics were told everywhere, by whisper, by meetings, even by drunkenness. She was revered. Anna had become a legend among the peoples.

Of course, I had met with Anna, a chance encounter, long before. She was but a young girl, wielding two wooden swords, fiercely protecting her dead parents against a few thieves. I had taken pity, intervened, saved her. Her parents were buried, their graves marked with a spare sword I carried.

She tagged along with me, silently, and I trained her. I helped honed her fighting skills and began to care for her, this inquisitive, bright, bundle of energy. But…that was only for a week or so. I dropped her off in the city of hope, Luin, for a young couple offered to take her in.

"Promise me we'll meet again!" she had cried. Her tiny arms were wrapped around my leg.

I couldn't help but smile and bend down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"I promise." She gave me the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. It pained me to leave her, but it had been for the best.

Who knew that that promise turned to be very true? I found Anna, years later, the hero, on the run constantly. We had met after helping each other in a battle, and she had looked at me and gave me that beautiful smile she had given me so long ago.

I fell in love, swift and hard.

I didn't know at the time, but she had been in love with me since she was a child. She had loved the "man with the pained eyes" since she had met me. Her confession that she remembered me made things easier, for it would have felt awkward other wise, to remember her and she not me.

We traveled around the country, as student and master, trying to right wrongs done to people. These actions gave me hope; hope to atone for my sins.

I should have known nothing would last.

After painful encounters with loved ones, enemies, and strangers, I finally found the courage to ask for her hand in marriage. She accepted and we were wed. We still traveled, righting wrongs, no longer as student and master, but as equals, and that gave her nothing but joy.

A year and a half later, Anna gave birth to our son, Lloyd.

Never in my life, had I been happier.

We slowed down, actually daring to settle for months at a time. Finally, we took our home in the quaint costal city of Palmacosta.

Happiness, for me, can never last.

One of my few friends, Yuan, betrayed my trust. He stole my wife and son away, placing them as test subjects in a ranch.

I became frenzied and searched, searched for weeks. My search finally ended and I infiltrated the base. My infiltration soon became a massacre, but it didn't matter. They had harmed my wife and child, they had ruined my life.

We ran, we ran again like we had before, but it couldn't last. Anna had undergone the Angelus Project and a special parasitic Exsphere had been attached to her. I could not save my wife and she underwent the mutation, turning into a bloodthirsty creature.

She was killed, by my own hand; and, as I held her in my arms, she left me with an obscure promise.

Before I could do anything, for my wife or my son, Yuan and Mithos found me, dragging me away from the carnage, from the blood. They took me back to Derris Kharlan and that was the last I saw of either Anna or Lloyd…until years later.

That was when the Tales of Symphonia began, but you all know that story. No, the story I will tell to you is that of Anna's. She deserves it, really. She deserves so much more, but this is what I can do for now, for my wife.

This is my song, a requiem, to celebrate the dead.

End Prelude

Author's Notes- Hate it? Love it? Is anyone interested? Actually, I hope my previous fans are reading this. I want to say…this story needed to undergo a massive rewrite! I'm sorry, but after reading the story, I've realized that I didn't stay close enough to Kratos's…reserved nature. I made him too bold. Actually, I just changed him too completely, and I shouldn't have. What I want him to do is grow as a person, become happier, and then bring it all back down. Sorry, but this wouldn't be an angst unless somebody got hurt. Well, onto the first chapter my readers! Also, please review! I love C&C, any C&C. Ciao.